NaNo Update ~ Winner!

Well, I've done it ~ I have managed to officially cross the 50,000 word finish line with five days to spare. The number that got me into the winner's circle is 50,352. I made the final big push this morning of almost 8,000 words to get there and it was exhausting but so worth it to see the purple "Winner" banner on my profile. I am not sure if I will continue to write on the existing file as such or begin the revision process.

I signed up for NaNo as a personal journey of exploration: to see if I could even write 50,000 words, to find out if I had the stamina or will to sit at the computer day after day and type, to learn if writing is something I really want to do or something I just thought I wanted to do, and finally, to have a better idea of whether or not I have the raw talent to commit myself to a full year or more in hopes of ending up with a marketable manuscript.

So ~ what I have learned:

Yes, I can write 50,000 words. And some are even different words. Not all of them are good words, but. . .

Yes, I found I was able to return to the computer time and again and type. . . I didn't always make it every day but I was able to catch up my word count within a day or two. This happened whether or not I had any idea of what I was going to write when I first sat down for each writing session. At times it was not easy to get started, sometimes the words were almost painful to bring forth, but eventually, if I sat long enough, the words did come.

Yes, I do want to be a writer.

Yes, the longer I have written, the more I have come to believe that I do have some skill at storytelling. I do accept the fact that I have much to learn before I reach the point where my writing will be strong enough to submit to an agent and/or publisher but I believe that if I continue to work on my story, continue to work hard to hone my skills, that day will come.

If you are interested in reading an excerpt of my story, you can find it in my NaNoWriMo profile.

Maybe I can now read a book for a change :)